The playoff field continues to be whittled down. Today we preview the 7A GHSA Football semifinals. Three No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed make up the field for the semifinals. There are also two Gwinnett County schools on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning, we could potentially have an all Gwinnett County championship. But we are sure that south Georgia power, Lowndes and Cobb County’s Marietta Blue Devils will have something to say about that. Best of luck to all teams competing this weekend. As always, please let us know if there are any corrections. Thanks as always for reading and sharing!!!
The Skinny
The Lowndes Vikings advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive year as they held off Grayson at home. The Vikings are now 13-0 for the first time since 2004. Quarterback Jacurri Brown had a big game on the ground, rushing for 158 yards and 2-TDs. Brown has now rushed for 1,308 yards and 18-TDs. The Vikings defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 49 times and is led by Thomas Davis, who has 10.5 on the year. Lowndes is averaging 36.6 points per game in the playoffs while the defense is allowing 14 points per game. A win this week would put Lowndes in the finals for the first time since 2007.
The North Gwinnett Bulldogs are in the semifinals for the second time in three years. The Bulldogs have now reeled off 12 games in a row. North Gwinnett got big performances from their three offensive stars quarterback J.R. Martin, running back Devin Crosby and receiver Josh Downs. On the season, Martin has passed for over 2,100 yards and 25-TDs, Crosby has rushed for over 1,400 yards and 18-TDs while Downs has now crossed the 1,000 yard mark in receiving yards with 12 TDs. The North Gwinnett defense has not allowed more than 23 points in a game all season. They’ve also tightened up in the playoffs, allowing only 12.3 points per game. The Offense is averaging 47.6 points per game. A win this Friday would put the Bulldogs into the finals for the second time in three years. We don’t believe North Gwinnett will score 47 against Lowndes this week, but we do like them on the road. Bulldogs by 3.
The Skinny
The Parkview Panthers have advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2004. The Panthers rode the legs of Cody Brown and Tyler Curtis last week as the two backs combined for over 300 yards and 4-TDs to defeat Archer. On the season, the duo has rushed for over 2,300 yards and 30-TDs. Parkview has now won eleven consecutive games on the season. In the playoffs, they are averaging 36.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 17.3 points per game. A win this week would put Parkview into the finals for the first time since 2004.
The Marietta Blue Devils are in the semifinals for the first time since 1994. Marietta has now won six games in a row. The Blue Devils also got a big game from their running back Kimani Vidal who rushed for 263 yards, (237 coming in the first half) to down Mill Creek last week. Vidal has now rushed for 1,429 yards and scored 22-TDs on the ground. Meanwhile, Harrison Bailey has now passed for 3,563 yards and 39-TDs. In three playoff games, Marietta is averaging 40.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 15.6 points per game. A win would put the Blue Devils into the finals for the first time since 1967. While we certainly believe Parkview can neutralize Marietta’s explosive offense by keeping them on the sideline with their own ground game, we believe the Blue Devils are clicking on all cylinders right now. We like Marietta by 6 on the road.